Apparatus for operating movable members



July 5, 1938. e. EFRON 2,122,632

' APPARATUS FOR OPERATING MOVABLE MEMBERS Filed Nov. 4, 1936 @E] WE @Ygi @-4@ @ifw 18 2 '45 Patented July 5, 1938 PATENT OFFICE,

APPARATUS FOR OPERATING MOVABLE MEMBERS George Efron, New York, N. Y.

Application November 4, 1936, Serial No. 109,141 In Germany November 6, 1935 3 Claims.

My invention relates to an apparatus for operating movable articles or figures, for instance display articles and figures such as described in my co-pending application for patent of the United States, Ser. No. 18,558, filed April 27, 1935, for an Apparatus for operating movable members. As described in my co-pending application, the articles and figures are equipped with movable limbs and bellows for moving the limbs and/or they are mounted to move on a suitable support and operatively connected to bellows for moving them on the support. The bellows for moving the limbs and the bellows, if any, for moving the complete articles or figures are controlled by pneumatic means such as a tracker bar and a perforated control sheet.

It is an object of my invention to provide an improved apparatus for operating movable articles or figures. To this end, in combination with a tracker bar, pipe lines connecting the tracker bar to the individual controlling means, for instance the bellows referred to, by which the movable parts of the articles or limbs of the figures, and/or the articles or figures themselves, are operated, a control sheet and means, such as a pair of reels, for moving the control sheet across the tracker bar, I provide a source of potential energy, for instance a source of compressed or rarefied air, which is connected with the rest of the apparatus in such a way as to provide an integral whole. In the preferred embodiment of my invention I provide, that the bellows and the other means providing air compression or air rarefication lie in the same air-tight compartment as the tracker bar, the control sheet and the remaining important parts of the set up.

In that way I reduce the size of the whole apparatus, achieve greater efliciency of the same and reduce the production costs.

In the drawing affixed to this specification and forming part thereof, the apparatus embodying my invention is illustrated diagrammatically by way of example.

In the drawing:

Figs. 1 to 4 illustrate the apparatus, operated by compressed air.

More particularly:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the closed apparatus.

Fig. 2 shows the opened apparatus, i. e. the apparatus with its lid taken off.

Fig. 3 shows the interior of the apparatus, the reels with the control sheet having been removed.

Fig. 4 is an end elevation of the apparatus viewed from the left in Fig. 1.

. Referring to the drawing: I is a box mounted on suitable feet 2. The lid 3 is the front part of the box which is hermetically closed by means of screws 4. Lid 3 is equipped with the pipes 5, extending to the bellows, or other pneumatic means of the articles or figures, to be operated.

In the interior of the box I are the bellows 6, which are connected with the eccentric 9 by means of the angles I and the flexible parts 8. Eccentric 9 is placed on the shaft II] which is being driven by the wheel II. When this wheel II is put into motion by an electrical motor, the bellows 6 open and close in turn and in this way suck the outside air through the openings I2 and pump it into the interior of box I through the valves I3.

On the inner side of lid 3 is placed the tracker bar 24 into which the ends of the pipes 5 are inserted. Past this tracker bar 24 the control sheet I6 is stretched, running over the reels I4 and I5. These reels are mounted to rotate at I4 and I5 one of the reels (I5) being connected to the shaft ID by means of a pair of bevel gearing I8 and I9, theshaft 20, the sprocket 2|, the chain 22 and sprocket 23. When the shaft I is put into motion, its motion is transmitted to the perforated sheet I6, so that simultaneously with the movement of the bellows 6 i. e. with the creation of airpressure in box I, the control sheet I6 is also put into motion. During this motion the perforations II glide by the openings of the pipes and connect or disconnect them from the interior of the box I. Namely, should one of the perforations I'I coincide with one of the pipe-openings, then the air flows out of box I through the connected pipe 5 into that part of the object or figure, to which that particular pipe leads. On the other hand should the solid part of the perforated sheet I6 cover the opening of the pipe 5, then the air current in the pipe 5 is interrupted and therefore the motion of the objects connected to pipe 5 stops. To each vertical row of perforations corresponds one of the pipes 5, so that the changes in air pressure in every separate pipe 5 can be controlled by the position of the perforations on the control sheet. The length of the perforations corresponds to the duration of the particular movement in question. The width of the perforation corresponds to its intensity. In this way I can control and vary the movements of the objects or figures, moved by air pressure created by bellows or other pneumatic means. Instead of air pressure I can also use air rarefication for the same purpose.

I claim:

1. In an apparatus for operating movable memcasing having passages opening into said casing at one end and connected to control pipe lines at the other end, a control sheet in said casing, means for moving said control sheet past the open ends of said passages so as to make and break their connection to the interior of said casing and bellows for producing an air pressure other than that of the atmosphere, which bellows are driven by the same shaft as that which drives the control sheet.

3. In an apparatus for operating movable members, a distributor casing, a tracker bar in said casing having passages opening into said casing at one end and connected to control pipe lines at the other end, a control sheet in said casing, means for moving said control sheet past the open ends of said passages so as to make and break their connection to the interior of said casing and a mechanical connection between these means and the shaft which drives the bellows.

GEORGE EFRON. 

